The library in Ponyville is in a rather unusual building. The locals call it the "tree-brary," which is an apt name for the trove of books located in a hollow tree. As you enter it, you are overcome with the expected smell of dust and mildew, but there is another smell, a rather sweet smell. This is the scented oil the keeper uses to mask the unfortunate smell of her draconian assistant's breath. The dragon in question, who is known as Spike, is most likely sweeping the rug covered floors, dusting the numerous surfaces, or, as he is now, organizing books with his unicorn master, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight herself would usually be directing these activities, but... she seems to have gone missing.
You search for her elsewhere, and find yourself in the library's roots, which are hollow and serve as hundreds of tunnels in which to hide books, most of which have not seen the light of day since Twilight moved in. Oh, there's the mare herself! What's that she's looking at?
"I've never seen this," she says, indicating a thick, leather bound tome. " 'A Study in Solitude.' No author. Huh, I don't remember this one." She opens the volume to the first page, hoping to find a publisher or a summary...
Nothing. "Well," she says, clearing a space on the wooden floor. "I guess there's only one way to find out what this is about..."
Twilight has seen quite a few strange books in her day, books ranging from the forbidden art of alchemy to the now-infamous tome that, when read, causes the reader to develop colic. This, though, is even more bizarre than any of those. It is a work of fiction, which is frowned upon by sophisticated scholars in Equestria due to the unfortunate fact that the genre is often corrupted by sub-par writing and cheap laughs, the only exception being the Derring Doo series, which is one of the very few respectable works. This novel held in the hooves of Twilight, though, is unlike anything any pony has experienced before in the world of fiction.
The story captivates her from the very first paragraph. Any pony who has read any of the lowbrow pony pulp fiction can agree that, while having a vast spectrum of absurd plots, a recurring theme between them is the power of friendship and cooperation. As suggested in the title, this story challenges this social norm. The story, as she has seen so far, follows the ideological journey of an unnamed protagonist who is searching for meaning in his existence by considering the benefits of being alone and self-sufficient. This rudimentary summary cannot possibly do justice for the story's mesmerizing language, which pulls Twilight further and further away from the outside world.
